Health insurance costs depend on what limits you buy now and if you are willing to pay more of the cost yourself you can buy it for less by shopping around. I used $5,000.00 per year as an example because the people that work hard every day at low wage jobs have no way of buying the lowest cost insurance let alone the high end ones. That being the case you tax them for a family $700.00 per year for not complying and they go without necessities so that the government can spend their hard earned money on what? Health care free for illegals and don't tell me that it won't happen it is happening now. You don't have to calculate your health care cost to show that the waitress that serves your food and caters to your needs can't abide by this craziness you only have to look around you at the people working to keep your life comfortable and realize that you just hit them with a tax for not doing anything but trying to survive so you can hopefully have cheaper health care. Now if that doesn't bother you then your a full blown progressive elite with all of the compassion that elite,s have for those working poor people that they depend on every day. If on the other hand you have woke up and realized that you just stepped on the head on a working sole hard and sold your vote to a regime to make your life easier while making theirs harder do something upright and thoughtful. Demand that this nonsense be done away with and something sensible that doesn't hurt people put in its place. No Romney hasn't put forward a plan so that the regime could tear it apart you know the game but you are the umpire in this court and you can call the strikes and balls so wake up, grow up, stand up and tell your congressman that this is not what you intended to do to your fellow man. The person that cleans up after doesn't owe you any tax.

The high court’s ruling leaves in place 21 tax increases in the health care law costing more than $675 billion over the next 10 years, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. Of those, 12 tax hikes would affect families earning less than $250,000 per year, the panel said, including a “Cadillac tax” on high-cost insurance plans, a tax on insurance providers and an excise tax on medical-device manufacturers.“This is a clear violation of the president’s pledge to avoid tax hikes on low- and middle-income taxpayers,”http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/...

You know what dumbass, you just said it yourself, the high courts ruling. Obama never intended or marketed his plan as a tax. The court said the individual mandate could stand but only as a tax, not as a provision of the commerce clause. Get your facts straight. The Supreme Court made this into a tax NOT OBAMA !

Doctors are dropping their Medicare patients in record numbers. They also state that they want no part of the government health care pools. The reimbursement of billing is so low now that they can't break even. The $500,000,000.00 cut in Medicare will be taken from the doctors reimbursement pay. Now you tell us what doctor is going to take out of pocket money to treat you. The health care bill won't even allow you to pay for their office visit out of your own pocket.Students in medical school are rethinking their career choices. This contributes to a shortage of doctors. Business are operating at the lowest profit margins in history and will explain to their employees that if they want Obama to keep his job they had better plan on loosing theirs its that simple. If health care is enacted and America re-elects Obama them the working class will disappear and the business community will vaporize.The average cost of health care for a family will be over $5,000.00 per year and the tax for not buying it will be determined by your wages. In two years it goes up to sky high.

All you say here is not true at all. Hospitals, Dr's and companies associated with health care support the health care bill. As of now, hospitals alone suffer 49 billion a year in unpaid hospital bills annually. Dr's will see increases in their incomes as will companies associated with medical supplies and pharmacutical manufactures because instead of freebies, people can actually go to the Dr. instead of the ER for a cold or flu leaving a burden on the industry. Your reasoning is flawed. Increased foot traffic at the Dr.s offices mean more Dr.s are needed and medical schools flourish. Nursing runs at a shortage and eventhoug nursing schools are full, there still will be a shortage. Other health care related fields will flourish as well. You like to talk about the increased burden on business and the middle classand poor, but you fail to mention the offsets that they will recieve for participation, only the penalty for not. The poor will get even more help to afford their care. No plan is perfect and the bugs will work out but this is better than the unplan Romney touts. I haven't seen any thing other than the bravado that he has one but no dtails. Hell, not even an overview. We will see come November. Adn, if Obama is re-elected, we will see how quiet you become.

Your a dreamer if you believe what you printed. Your a fool to even say it. The people that clean up after you working every day are not obligated to pay for your health care or be taxed by government for not buying what they can't afford. You have a blind spot in your perception.

Your a dreamer if you believe what you printed. Your a fool to even say it. The people that clean up after you working every day are not obligated to pay for your health care or be taxed by government for not buying what they can't afford. You have a blind spot in your perception.

Even if they get a voucher, and pay the diffrence in costs. Who says they can pay co-pays? Most who don't waste their time buying insurance now is because its a redundant issue, if you can't afford the co-pays why waste time buying the insurance. It doesn't matter if your 3000 dollars in debt to the hospital or doctors office, or 200,000 in debt to them. If you can't afford either its a non-issue. I know lots of folks who work full time at factories making 9 dollars an hour. They could no more pay an extra 500 dollars, or 5,000 dollars if something happens. What can you take from people who have nothing? If they get health insurance and still are to poor to use it, its a waste for them.

Your a dreamer if you believe what you printed. Your a fool to even say it. The people that clean up after you working every day are not obligated to pay for your health care or be taxed by government for not buying what they can't afford. You have a blind spot in your perception.

So, are you saying that these people who serve our meals and clean up after us deserve to NOT have health insurance? What if they get sick? What if they get injured? Do they deserve to owe tens or hundreds of thousands to pay for their bills, or are you saying you would rather things stay the way they are now and WE pick up the tab for those bills?

Remember many's rant about his sister-in-law who can AFFORD all the luxuries but can't AFFORD to buy health insurance where she works? Perhaps he was onto something.

The only republican plan I remember hearing when Congress was debating this bill was something like a $5,000 voucher to help pay your health insurance premiums, but leave everything else as it is now. How would THAT help those people who serve our meals and clean up after us any more than the Affordable Care Act?

I am saying that your kids and the working poor owe you no lower health insurance premiums. You read the post from lmao do you think that its untrue? If something isn't working you don't make it worse. This fraud you call health care isn't going to reduce anyones cost it will only increase it. Young people starting out have no money to give you to reduce your costs. How to fix it isn't really all that complicated but you don't want to hear it. Republicans can't bring any plan forward it would only be like everything else they bring up you attack their ideas instantly. The only choice left is for the elite to siphon off the working poor peoples money with taxes pretending that they are penalized for not buying a insurance policy are you comfortable with that? If you think everybody should have health insurance then open it up accross state lines and make it reasonable covering the catastrophic not the all inclusive giving them a chance to survive without penalties of taxation.

Well then maybe, all health care should go private and for profit. Government should have nothing to do with it. No involvement except for medicare for the elderly. You get sick or need an operation, you cannot pay or have no insurance, you suffer and/or die. Oh yes, and medical bills are no longer dischargable under the bankruptcy code since all health care is private and not Governemnt funded or subsidized. That will go along way towards the deficiet, saving all of that money from health care support. Premiums for insurance will skyrocket , by the way, because itis a perfect competition. Since there is no more Government competition, they care charge whatever they want and you either pay or suffer. No exceptions. Lets cut out other Govt. funded help as well. Food stamps...gone. Affordable housing subsidies....gone. WIC...gone. If you can not afford to suport a child, don't have one cause you are on your own. This is where America would go under the thinking of people like tater and many.

Well then maybe, all health care should go private and for profit. Government should have nothing to do with it. No involvement except for medicare for the elderly. You get sick or need an operation, you cannot pay or have no insurance, you suffer and/or die. Oh yes, and medical bills are no longer dischargable under the bankruptcy code since all health care is private and not Governemnt funded or subsidized. That will go along way towards the deficiet, saving all of that money from health care support. Premiums for insurance will skyrocket , by the way, because itis a perfect competition. Since there is no more Government competition, they care charge whatever they want and you either pay or suffer. No exceptions. Lets cut out other Govt. funded help as well. Food stamps...gone. Affordable housing subsidies....gone. WIC...gone. If you can not afford to suport a child, don't have one cause you are on your own. This is where America would go under the thinking of people like tater and many.

You just described their Utopia. I don't know about many, but Tater would be thrilled because his doctor's office would not be crowded. Kind of scary, isn't it?

Well then maybe, all health care should go private and for profit. Government should have nothing to do with it. No involvement except for medicare for the elderly. You get sick or need an operation, you cannot pay or have no insurance, you suffer and/or die. Oh yes, and medical bills are no longer dischargable under the bankruptcy code since all health care is private and not Governemnt funded or subsidized. That will go along way towards the deficiet, saving all of that money from health care support. Premiums for insurance will skyrocket , by the way, because itis a perfect competition. Since there is no more Government competition, they care charge whatever they want and you either pay or suffer. No exceptions. Lets cut out other Govt. funded help as well. Food stamps...gone. Affordable housing subsidies....gone. WIC...gone. If you can not afford to suport a child, don't have one cause you are on your own. This is where America would go under the thinking of people like tater and many.

I don't really agree with all that. If you remove the government covering all the losses, you would also help eliminate a whole lot of corruption in billing. The other is that under bankruptcy, a debt is discharged to a private holder, but not to the gov. You can't get rid of gov liens through bankruptcy, but you can discharge medical bills. Whne you open the market up to compition, if you charge more than the other guy, you won't have customers. Insurance should not be held hostage at the state line. If small clinics could be allowed to open across the country, my bet is prices would drop a ton. Cash customers would force the insurance agencies to provide much better insurance to compete with medical facilities that wouldn't want thier shady business and instead worked with more fair and honest providers. If the gov wants to provide care for elderly, or the children, thats ok with me. Just do it in gov facilities. Don't allow insurance middle men to destroy the system with greed. They take so much off the top, service is stuck struggling to survive. Their own employees are way over worked now and way underpaid compared to profit margins. The health care system in whole, is like the manufacturing companies. They now drive wages into the basement and screw employees, yet wonder why people complain and won't pay thier bills. Its because most of America can barely keep the lights on and gas to get to work in their car.Health care was not the first thing that should have been gone after to be fixed. Why fix the one bad eye when all four legs are broke.

mao you are brilliant and well spoken. Ev is compassionate unless you are working in the laundry or the McDonald's then she wants your hide. This bill won't work and it will crush the economy of the nation in less than 6 months. You have hit the nail on the head get government out of health care and allow the free enterprise to work. Before government got in bed with the insurance companies and blocked the competition in the states the problem didn't exist. As for welfare programs they are abused and totally out of control and need to be sent back to the local level totally. If you need assistance it should be provided by your local officials not the federal government. Charities should bear most of the burden and the free lunch would be gone.

The one thing that isn't disputable in this debate is that a working poor person does not deserve what the progressive elite is giving them and that is 21 new taxes to pay for.

mao you are brilliant and well spoken. Ev is compassionate unless you are working in the laundry or the McDonald's then she wants your hide. This bill won't work and it will crush the economy of the nation in less than 6 months. You have hit the nail on the head get government out of health care and allow the free enterprise to work. Before government got in bed with the insurance companies and blocked the competition in the states the problem didn't exist.As for welfare programs they are abused and totally out of control and need to be sent back to the local level totally. If you need assistance it should be provided by your local officials not the federal government. Charities should bear most of the burden and the free lunch would be gone.The one thing that isn't disputable in this debate is that a working poor person does not deserve what the progressive elite is giving them and that is 21 new taxes to pay for.

If the gov supports this with huge cash influxes here and there to cover losses (read CEO bonuses), it will survive bout 5 years. With out the gov shoving money in the hole, it will grow quickly. I went back and looked at some old papers i had. I once got 14 stiches and some kind of antibiotic and it looks like 10 tylanol of some sort?(Hard to read, receipt is like 27 yrs old now.) I paid cash , this was 1985. Total was $165.00 . My son had a dang near same cut (11 stiches), if i can understand the bills right( many pages of gobbly goop) it looks like we paid a total of $430.00 out of pocket,$28.00 for our part of the prescriptions, and the insurance company paid out a total of 2800.00 on top of what we paid. That was back in 2006. I know costs rise a little, but I sure have not seen wages or service grow so much since when I was a teen to justify that kind of increase. Both of us were stitched up at Indian Path in KPT.

<quoted text>If the gov supports this with huge cash influxes here and there to cover losses (read CEO bonuses), it will survive bout 5 years. With out the gov shoving money in the hole, it will grow quickly. I went back and looked at some old papers i had. I once got 14 stiches and some kind of antibiotic and it looks like 10 tylanol of some sort?(Hard to read, receipt is like 27 yrs old now.) I paid cash , this was 1985. Total was $165.00 . My son had a dang near same cut (11 stiches), if i can understand the bills right( many pages of gobbly goop) it looks like we paid a total of $430.00 out of pocket,$28.00 for our part of the prescriptions, and the insurance company paid out a total of 2800.00 on top of what we paid. That was back in 2006. I know costs rise a little, but I sure have not seen wages or service grow so much since when I was a teen to justify that kind of increase. Both of us were stitched up at Indian Path in KPT.

I gave birth to my two sons at Morristown-Hamblen Hospital in the late 1970's and early 1980's. My husband was self-employed, so our health insurance did not include maternity benefits, and we had to pay cash. The first bill was around $650. The second, three years later, was around $1,200. I don't know what the cost would be now, but I do know it would be outrageous. I agree that wages have not risen as much since then, UNLESS you look at the wages of hospital and insurance company CEO's. They've kept pace quite nicely.

Another issue is with the actual billing: I recently had some blood work done, and the lab billed my insurance company $2,418.85. The insurance company paid $338.88, and my part is zero. Does this make ANY sense? If I had not had insurance, would I have been expected to pay $2,481.85? I have been told the answer to that question is, "yes." I am not willing to drop my coverage to find out.

My $2,400.00 lab bill just yesterday for blood work as my insurance isn't any good now cost me $247.00 so it really can be reasonable if you ask and shop. But that has nothing to do with the problem the reason its so high is the third party payee. I was just notified that my doctor no longer takes Medicare so I have to pay out of pocket for my care and prescriptions because they won't pay for out of network care. My deductible for hospital care is they say $4,800.00 now if I keep my doctor. Now changing doctors may not seem a big deal to some but I like to choose mine.

I don't understand how a elite can by so worried about the welfare of the bums that won't work and so unconcerned about the people that do work. Oh thats right that is the same people that run commercials against the mistreatment of animals and throw blood all over people with furs on and then won't drill for oil or gas to help the human race exist. This is the same people that brought you the burning of the western states homes by the hundred ruined because they object to controlled burn just let nature do it.

<quoted text>I gave birth to my two sons at Morristown-Hamblen Hospital in the late 1970's and early 1980's. My husband was self-employed, so our health insurance did not include maternity benefits, and we had to pay cash. The first bill was around $650. The second, three years later, was around $1,200. I don't know what the cost would be now, but I do know it would be outrageous. I agree that wages have not risen as much since then, UNLESS you look at the wages of hospital and insurance company CEO's. They've kept pace quite nicely.Another issue is with the actual billing: I recently had some blood work done, and the lab billed my insurance company $2,418.85. The insurance company paid $338.88, and my part is zero. Does this make ANY sense? If I had not had insurance, would I have been expected to pay $2,481.85? I have been told the answer to that question is, "yes." I am not willing to drop my coverage to find out.

I have a ?

How come they have 2 prices?(a lot of times) One if u don't have Ins (cash price) and one much much more if u have Ins?

Why do they charge a "MUCH" higher price for the same thing if u have good Ins?

My Grandma had good Ins and had heart surg..they charged 975.00 for a damn little made in china teddy bear they put in her room...WHY???..to pay for all the illegal Mexicans sitting in the Emg room?

You cannot count as FAST as the debt goes up. America is through, it is over. Satan, obama and the governemnt will complete the destruction of the good ole US of A. I hope you all enjoyed the good ole days, they were great. Hope to see you all in heaven.

<quoted text>I have a ?How come they have 2 prices?(a lot of times) One if u don't have Ins (cash price) and one much much more if u have Ins?Why do they charge a "MUCH" higher price for the same thing if u have good Ins?My Grandma had good Ins and had heart surg..they charged 975.00 for a damn little made in china teddy bear they put in her room...WHY???..to pay for all the illegal Mexicans sitting in the Emg room?

I think the reason is because they can get the money from the insurance companies, and they may not be able to get it from the consumer. When I had my first son, the other lady in the room had good insurance. Her bill was over $1,200, of which she paid $2.50, which they said was for the wrist band they put on you when you are hospitalized.

Although she may have supplemental insurance as well, I would assume that your Grandma had Medicare, a program in which there is admittedly a lot of waste. I think that is all the more reason to hire more people to oversee the waste and fraud. Again, I think the savings would more than pay for the positions.

So, are you telling me that your grandmother was subject to an INDIVIDUAL MANDATE to have a teddy bear, whether she wanted one or not? That is just wrong! I hope you wrote a letter to her congressman.

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